Local Viewpoints

Local Viewpoints

3:54 pm

Sat July 11, 2015

Washington, D.C. -- In response to the United States Army’s announced reduction of overall troop levels yesterday, Congressman Pearce issued the following statement:

“The Department of the Army’s (Army) announcement reducing its active duty forces by 40,000 troops is truly disturbing. The world is dangerous and we are responding by cutting the number of our soldiers,” said Pearce. “Since 2012, the Army has been forced to reduce its overall forces by over 20%, due to the White House’s priorities.”

Every New Mexico student deserves the opportunity for an education led by high quality teachers, no matter their zip code. The system brought in when the PED threw out the old one is doing the opposite – driving great teachers away and limiting the time available for the teachers who remain to provide a high quality, well-rounded education as they sacrifice that to a test-driven standardized curriculum.

Las Cruces, NM – Joining a bipartisan effort to ensure that New Mexico keeps its authority to enforce and enact data breach and data security laws, New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas today signed onto a letter to the U.S. Congress that emphasized maintaining states’ rights and rejecting any efforts to allow federal preemption of state legislation.

Local Viewpoints

1:31 pm

Tue July 7, 2015

Public Citizen enthusiastically endorses the 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act, reintroduced (PDF) today by U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Angus King (I-Maine) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). Banks that use deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation would be restricted to basic financial services such as loan-making and forbidden from investment activities, including derivatives speculation.

Local Viewpoints

10:26 am

Tue July 7, 2015

Albuquerque, NM - Community groups are organizing a Town Hall on July 8th, 2015, as a forum to voice opposition to Governor Martinez’s plans to limit food assistance to parents, teenagers, and adults over 50 who cannot find employment. On May 29th, the State released a proposed regulation requiring work activities as a condition for many New Mexicans to receive food through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, uses federal funds to provide food assistance to families who qualify.

Local Viewpoints

12:19 pm

Mon July 6, 2015

Earlier this month a monumental event took place in my life. I celebrated a birthday. Now it wasn't the birthday that most people might equate to as a major milestone, like turning 21 or 50. But it was a birthday which the economist in me found to be much more transformative. I officially became a "mature worker." Why should this matter to you? Because it means that starting now I will be less of a contributor to the overall economy.

Local Viewpoints

11:04 am

Sun July 5, 2015

Thinking about El Paso Electric, it helps to step back and contemplate the situation of electrical utilities generally.

These utilities are granted a monopoly on a valuable commodity, they're regulated by the states. Most function under somewhat backward laws that enable them to profit only by buying or building things, which often pressures them to solve problems in otherwise unnecessarily inefficient and (for us) expensive ways.

Local Viewpoints

7:22 pm

Wed July 1, 2015

As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day and our strong democracy, it seems totally appropriate that I announce my intention to run for the District 2 seat on the Las Cruces City Council. I have held that seat for nearly four years, and those years have included some very important progress for District 2 and for the City of Las Cruces. I plan for the next four years to bring even more to the district and to the city that my wife and I, and various members of our families, call “home.”

Local Viewpoints

3:37 pm

Mon June 29, 2015

Today, hundreds of thousands of Latinos and non-Latinos cheer NBC Universal and its parent company Comcast for severing their relationship with Donald Trump for his bigoted, racist, anti-Latino rant. NBC Universal/Comcast, to its credit, moved to disassociate itself from a man who has either failed to realize or to accept that hate speech against any and all communities will no longer be tolerated.

Local Viewpoints

7:15 pm

Sun June 28, 2015

Austin - State Sen. José Rodríguez today issued the following statement regarding Texas Attorney General Greg Paxton's contention that elected officials in Texas are not bound by the U.S. Constitution:

Local Viewpoints

5:25 pm

Sun June 28, 2015

Prince Myshkin, protagonist of Dostoyevsky's The Idiot, is an “idiot” because he takes the words of Jesus quite literally, not realizing (as the mature adults around them do) that such sentiments are all very well in their place but not to be acted upon.

Pope Francis seems a little that way. In a traditional situation where the Pope displays his humility, Pope Francis chose to do so with juvenile delinquents in a jail; and rather than any ceremonial washing, he chose to kneel down and give their feet a good washing. Clearly he didn’t get it at all!

When emergencies suddenly occur in our lives, no one is more important to us than the firefighters and paramedics who rush to our aid without hesitation. When fires break out at structures in Albuquerque or occur in our national forests, when there is an automobile accident on I-40, or when someone is having a heart attack, we count on these dedicated public employees of city and county governments whose work may mean the difference between life or death.

Local Viewpoints

2:43 pm

Thu June 25, 2015

U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s decision in the case King v. Burwell:

“Needless to say, I am disappointed by today’s ruling. This is a bad decision upholding a failed law. Worse yet, the majority opinion fails to justify its continuation. As Justice Scalia wrote in the dissenting opinion, ‘Words no longer have meaning if an Exchange that is not established by a State is “established by a State.’ What logic is this?”

Local Viewpoints

6:57 pm

Wed June 24, 2015

Ruidoso, NM - Business leaders from throughout New Mexico have voted to approve the New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry’s (ACI) slate of policy priorities for the interim legislative session, as well as the organization's leadership for the coming year.

Wed June 24, 2015

Albuquerque, NM - Attorney General Hector Balderas today called the current New Mexico energy system dysfunctional, demanding creation of a system that actually delivers affordable clean energy, and energy security to every New Mexico family. Energy security means access, affordability and reliability for all New Mexicans.

Local Viewpoints

4:54 pm

Tue June 23, 2015

Congressional Republican leaders have revealed— in bills moving now through the House and Senate—the fullest expression of the anti-environmental agenda they intend to aggressively pursue with majority control of Congress. And it’s a glaring example of ideology put into action that deserves much more attention than it has so far received.

“Why don't they pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting anybody from learning anything? If it works as well as prohibition did, in five years Americans would be the smartest race of people on Earth.”

Will Rogers

It’s time to regulate and tax the consumption of marijuana like alcohol. Why? The reasons are compelling, conclusive, and plentiful.

Local Viewpoints

2:00 pm

Sun June 21, 2015

About five years ago, El Paso Electric's electricity supply was mostly adequate, except during brief but sharp spikes in usage on summer afternoons.

EPE could have changed its rate structures to offer us a deal we couldn't refuse. Hike the rate at peak hours and perhaps discount off-peak usage. Only a mooncalf would run his dryer or dishwasher at 2 p.m.

Santa Fe—The Secretary of State’s (SOS) office received a letter from Attorney General Balderas, broadly describing amendments to the Campaign Reporting Act that he says he would support in the next legislative session.

The Attorney General’s proposals include measures that would impose mandatory fines for all violations of the Campaign Reporting Act. The SOS believes that if the AG views certain measures as beneficial to the people and to his office, then he should support them.

Local Viewpoints

10:22 am

Thu June 18, 2015

Congressional Republican leaders are adding numerous anti-environmental measures to must-pass appropriations bills and moving them through the House and a key Senate committee this week, despite a presidential veto threat and support for health and environmental safeguards from the American public.

The following is a statement from David Goldston, director of government affairs at the Natural Resources Defense Council:

Local Viewpoints

9:21 pm

Mon June 15, 2015

Today, Governor Susana Martinez signed into law a bipartisan jobs package designed to recruit new businesses to New Mexico, make it easier for small businesses to get off the ground and grow, expand trade and commerce along our southern border, and increase employment in the technology sector of New Mexico's economy.

Local Viewpoints

9:17 pm

Mon June 15, 2015

Democrats agreed to this tax package in order to get Republican support for what was really important to New Mexico's working families; the $287 million capital outlay package. These capital projects will create jobs and economic stimulus.

We don't believe the tax package will create new jobs or help the small businesses that are the backbone of the state's economy. We do believe the tax package favors out-of-state corporations at the expense of New Mexico taxpayers.

As Democrats, we will continue to do what's necessary to move our state forward.

Local Viewpoints

3:02 pm

Sun June 14, 2015

There's apparently a bullying problem within the Las Cruces Public School District: many employees say Superintendent Stan Rounds shows extreme favoritism toward folks he likes but has many others “very scared.”

Local Viewpoints

3:59 pm

Thu June 11, 2015

All of us know Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and Bill and Melinda Gates as some of history’s most famous, successful couples. But you may not know we have a very successful (maybe not yet internationally famous) couple living in our midst today in rural New Mexico—Joe and Christina Campos of Santa Rosa, NM.

Las Cruces - The conclusion of what has been called the “Sunland Park” cases is a just and fair result considering the quality of the investigation and the scarcity of legally provable facts. If cases are not properly investigated or fully analyzed prior to indictment then justice advances slowly, if at all. These cases were originated and investigated, in part, by investigators working directly for the former District Attorney. Those investigators wrote no contemporaneous reports during their investigation, thus creating severe gaps within the case.

Local Viewpoints

3:02 pm

Thu June 11, 2015

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall announced that he has joined U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and others in introducing the Fair Elections Now Act, which would dramatically change the way congressional elections are financed. Under the legislation, qualified Senate candidates would earn grants, matching funds, and television vouchers to run competitive campaigns based on small-dollar contributions, rather than rely on funding from wealthy donors and special interests. U.S. Sen.